From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Tue Sep 15 2009 - 09:55:28 EDT
African conflicts shift from politics to resources
Written by EABW REPORTER
Monday, 14 September 2009
LUSAKA, ZAMBIA- Researchers commissioned by the Common Market for East and
Southern Africa (COMESA) have warned countries emerging from conflict and
war situations of possible lapse if the new trends of war dynamics are not
urgently addressed.
The research that covered Uganda, Democratic republic of Congo, Kenya,
Burundi, Eritrea, Sudan, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Rwanda and
Somalia, observed that causes of war in these countries were taking a sharp
drift from the struggle for political power to acquisition of land and
exploitation of rich mineral resources.
The results of the research were presented during the COMESA meeting of
experts held early September in Livingstone, Zambia. Participants at the
meeting from Uganda included the Uganda Land Alliance, Uganda Joint
Christian Council, and a representative from Gulu University.
The new trend code-named “war economy” is said to involve illegal and
illicit trade of valuable minerals that takes advantage of the poor legal
and policy frameworks in the countries in question to grab from the masses
what legally belongs to them. Such acts are mainly fired by issues of
liberalization and deregulation, privatization and tax exemptions and
incentives favouring foreign mining companies (investors) and large-scale
miners over the smaller and more localized ones. This situation is likely to
provoke affected citizens into taking up arms in self defence, creating a
vicious cycle of insecurity.
The researchers further noted that countries emerging from wars often suffer
deficiencies in governance coupled with involvement of private sector in the
management of public utilities.
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